London open: Banks lead market higher
29th Nov 2010 08:54
UK shares have made a bright start to the week led by the banks after Ireland signed up to the EU/IMF bail-out at the weekend. Royal Bank of Scotland is the best performer. It has the largest exposure of the UK banks to Ireland. Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC are all going well. Bank of Ireland, meanwh
Read moreHSBC shuffles management team
26th Nov 2010 12:02
HSBC's new chief executive-elect Stuart Gulliver has nailed his colours to the mast of retail banking with his first appointment in his new role. Paul Thurston, the current head of HSBC's UK retail bank, will return to Hong Kong to run all the retail and wealth management businesses around the glob
Read moreThursday newspaper round-up: British banks, Irish banks, PIGS
25th Nov 2010 06:02
Britain's biggest banks are working on a joint plan to cut bonus payouts and boost lending to small business. As political pressure grows ahead of January's bonus round, The Times has learnt that senior executives from Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Royal Bank of Scotland held discussions l
Read moreLondon close: Late recovery not quite enough
19th Nov 2010 16:57
Shares recovered heading into the weekend but not enough to haul the leading share index into the blue. Outsourcing giant Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending, suffered more falls today. Miners continue to
Read moreLondon afternoon: Stocks still struggling
19th Nov 2010 15:31
A poor start on Wall Street has done nothing to help a recovery in London where the leading index is stuck near 5,700. Outsourcing giant Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending, is suffering more falls today.
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie stuck in the red as miners weigh
19th Nov 2010 12:11
Footsie remains firmly in the red amid losses in the mining sector. Outsourcing giant Capita, which yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending, is suffering more falls today. Miners Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Angl
Read moreLondon open: Struggle in early trade
19th Nov 2010 08:31
An early retreat follows losses for the mining heavyweights, though it's Capita that leads the fallers Friday. Outsourcing giant Capita yesterday said revenue growth in the second half of 2010 had been subdued due to government cuts in public spending. Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Kazakhmys and Anglo
Read moreeBay takes Big 4 lenders to task
15th Nov 2010 13:15
Online auction site eBay has joined the chorus of organisations grumbling about a lack of lending to small businesses on the part of banks. The web site's Online Business Index, a bi-annual report into the attitudes and performance of hundreds of online businesses operating on eBay's UK site, indic
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Royal Mail, Marks & Spencer...
8th Nov 2010 06:34
Some of the biggest trade finance providers, led by HSBC and Standard Chartered, are lobbying to have tough capital rules toned down, warning that if they are not, world trade could be severely hampered, the FT reports. HSBC, among the banks that dominate the trade finance market, said last week th
Read moreWeekend tips round-up: Imperial Tobacco, HSBC, Rentokil...
7th Nov 2010 10:22
Last week's full-year results from Imperial Tobacco were reassuring, but even cigarette companies are not immune from the recession. The key trend in the results was a move by consumers to rolling tobacco away from cigarettes as people tried to limit expenditure. The shares are trading on a Septemb
Read moreLondon close: Footsie boosted by US jobs
5th Nov 2010 16:52
Footsie rallied in the afternoon session on the back of better than expected US monthly jobs numbers to register its highest close since June 2008. Non-farm payrolls climbed by 151,000 in October, in spite of an 8,000 reduction in government payrolls, as private employers embarked on a recruiting s
Read moreLondon afternoon: Blue chips perk up
5th Nov 2010 15:00
Footsie has rallied as the afternoon session has progressed with miners making good gains on the back of better than expected US monthly jobs numbers. Vedanta is now the best performer, with silver miner Fresnillo, ENRC and Antofagasta all making good gains. Part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of S
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks head lower
5th Nov 2010 13:21
There was a negative reaction to the bank figures today. Royal Bank of Scotland fell into the red in the third quarter. It recorded a loss before tax of £1,379 million, compared with a profit of £1,157m in the second quarter and a loss of £2,077m in the third quarter of 2009. HSBC warned that the
Read moreLondon midday: Footsie subdued after surge
5th Nov 2010 12:19
Footsie remains slightly adrift following a mixed morning that has seen shares moving in both directions in the wake of yesterday's surge. Part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland is lower after it fell into the red in the third quarter. After restructuring costs, amortisation of intangibles a
Read moreLondon open: Modest start after yesterday's party
5th Nov 2010 09:00
Footsie has posted more gains but some of yesterday's euphoria has worn off after a mixed day so far for the banks. Part-nationalised bank Royal Bank of Scotland saw a 10% increase in its core operating profit in the third quarter over the preceding one. Core operating profit, excluding fair value
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